It was a Saturday morning and I was feeding the cat when Jack* called. My heart began to beat hard. I waited for three rings before picking up.
I had met Jack a week earlier on a trip abroad with mutual friends, and I’d been attracted to him on sight. He was tall, a few years older than me, had a great sense of humour and he spoke Italian fluently after living in the country for his job.
Little did I know that hours after this call, I’d be on a plane to Vienna for our first date.
I hadn’t gone on holiday looking for love – I’d only had one serious boyfriend before the trip and we’d broken up just a few months prior – but I was definitely open to romance.
During our week together, I learned that not only was Jack wise and witty, he liked to read and gave really good shoulder massages. He’d also just published a novel, which impressed me deeply.
After a day or two there was an unspoken realisation that we were attracted to each other but it wasn’t until the last night of the holiday that we kissed for the first time.
We stayed up all night walking around the village then headed to the beach where we lay down and looked at the stars. We finally shared our first kiss just as the sun began to rise. It was such a cliché but I didn’t care – it was the most romantic moment of my life. It was as though we had known each other forever, it was just so perfect.
Jack took my number before we parted ways at the train station but we never discussed future plans, so I spent the next three days barely eating or sleeping, chain smoking, scribbling his name on notepads and boring girlfriends with every little detail and asking their advice.
So, How Did It Go?
So, How Did It Go? is a weekly Metro.co.uk series that will make you cringe with second-hand embarrassment or ooze with jealousy as people share their worst and best date stories.
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It wasn’t like I could just bump into him – I was in London working as a journalist and he was in Italy.
Or so I thought.
‘Where are you?’ I asked as we chatted on the phone.
‘Around the corner at the pub,’ he said. I think my heart missed a beat.
Jack had flown in and was literally next to my flat. No one had ever made such a romantic gesture before – but that wasn’t even the best part.
‘Pack a bag and bring your passport,’ he told me, ‘we’re going away for the weekend.’ Without hesitation I cancelled my plans, grabbed a bag, stuffed it with a swimming suit, jumpers and jeans and went to find him. We walked towards each other, then he hugged me and we kissed in front of everyone in the pub. It was thrilling.
Taking my hand, he made a beeline for the door saying there was no time to linger. ‘We’re going to Vienna.’
My mind was swirling. I didn’t know much about Vienna except that Freud had lived there and there was a world-class opera house; all I could focus on was that this was our first official date. A whole weekend, just the two of us. It was the stuff of dreams.
The next two days were a blur of romance and fun. We stayed in a glitzy Baroque style hotel, ate the famous Sachertorte (a classic Viennese chocolate cake) at Cafe Sacher, spent hours in museums and galleries admiring paintings by Rubens and Raphael and enjoyed every second just walking, talking and being together.
And because neither of us had told anyone that we were going away, we were able to stay in our own bubble the whole time. Calls from his publisher and my dad went unanswered.
By the time the weekend came to an end, it was clear that we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend and I was in no doubt that we would see each other again very soon.
We spoke on the phone every day and I visited him in Italy a month later. When his contract came to an end the following year, he moved to London where we lived separately for a while and moved in together after a year. While there were no more spontaneous surprises, we went on many, wonderful trips.
Our relationship eventually fizzled out – partly because he was moving away again – and my heart broke. I haven’t seen Jack for years and a little part of me will always love him. We loved each other deeply, but it was not to be.
One thing is certain, though: our date to Vienna is still the most romantic thing I have ever experienced and it gave me a memory and a relationship I will treasure forever.
*Names have been changed
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